Planet Coaster 2: A Dive into Recent Updates and Performance Insights
Since its launch last November, Planet Coaster 2 has been steadily enhancing the experience of virtual theme park enthusiasts. The first major update, released just before Christmas, focused on refining the simulation of flume rides and addressing user interface concerns that had been raised by the community. This commitment to improvement has continued with the arrival of a second update, which introduces exciting new features.
This latest update allows players to create personalized video billboards for their parks, adding a unique touch to the overall aesthetic. These billboards can be strategically placed throughout the park and come equipped with a variety of pre-designed advertisements for rides, food and beverage brands, and beloved mascots. For those on PC, the opportunity to upload custom images and videos is available, provided they are in the .webm format for compatibility.
Another notable addition is the ability to synchronize rides, including coasters and flumes, enabling them to launch simultaneously. Furthermore, the introduction of “de-themed” variants of existing coasters offers players the chance to maintain the original layout while customizing the rides to better fit their park’s theme.
In addition to these new features, the update includes a series of game tweaks and an extensive list of bug fixes. Players will now benefit from enhanced control over user notifications and the addition of filters to the multi-select tool. A particularly significant enhancement is the path and pool tool, which now includes a preview feature that displays the chosen style while in use. This improvement is especially appreciated, as it saves time and frustration by preventing the need to delete incorrectly styled paths.
While delving into the bug fixes could easily extend this discussion, a few amusing highlights from the “Guests” section of the changelog are worth mentioning. Guests now properly change clothes before exiting the park when it is manually closed, eliminating the sight of patrons leaving in swimwear. Additionally, when a ride is closed for repairs, guests will now exit the queue quietly rather than becoming stuck in a state of desperation. One particularly entertaining fix addresses the panic state of guests who were previously struck by other guests on a flume ride, ensuring they no longer remain in a state of alarm after such an encounter.
My own experience with Planet Coaster 2’s waterparks was thoroughly enjoyable, though feedback from Steam users indicates some dissatisfaction, particularly regarding the complexity of the creation controls. The game’s commercial performance has sparked discussion, with a report from Zeus Capital suggesting it may not have met Frontier’s expectations. However, other sources indicate that the game contributed to a return to profitability for the company in the first half of the financial year, buoyed by the studio’s third-highest festive sales performance. Both reports cite approximately 400,000 copies sold, a figure that, while not monumental, marks an improvement over the disappointing performance of Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, which prompted a reevaluation of Frontier’s business strategy.
